


take a hint

by 0922jy



Category: GOT7, K-pop
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 06:30:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17441711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0922jy/pseuds/0922jy
Summary: wherein jinyoung is the perfect, top-of-the-class, student body president, "take him home to your parents" boy in school who’s always picking on his much quieter counterpart (who can’t help but still be one of his many admirers despite the way he treats them).





	take a hint

**Author's Note:**

> come on, don't we all love a park jinyoung in these type of scenarios???

“congratulations,” your english teacher stares right at you–then to jinyoung whose desk is right beside yours, “only the both of you have managed to get a perfect score on your final paper.”

“aren’t you tired of competing over grades?” jinyoung calls from behind you, while you pretend not to hear and continue to pack your things. “why don’t you try running for student body as well? i bet that would be interesting.” you could sense him smirk between that snicker.

you sigh and quickly slide your bag onto your shoulder, turning around towards the door without even bothering to look at him, “not everyone craves attention for breakfast, jinyoung.” he shakes his head and chuckles. jinyoung secretly loved how discreet you were–you seemed like the quiet type, sure, but you never really let anyone take advantage of that. which is why he loves picking on you–or in his own words, playing with you.

you slam your hand onto your laptop’s keyboard out of frustration, “i need to get at least an A on our math finals. how the hell am i supposed to do that!” your friend jerks their body in surprise, almost dropping their phone.

“hey, go easy on yourself. why? what did you get for midterms?” they ask, pure concern written all over their face.

“i got a B,” you huff. “i need an A for the scholarship program if i want to get into the university i’m aiming for,” you glare at the screen–your grades weren’t bad. not at all. it was really either just you and jinyoung who fought for top 1 in class. the problem is, you didn’t have money for the college you wanted–and they were very demanding when it comes to scholarship.

“hmm,” your friend tries to think of a solution for you to ace your finals. “the only student to get an A+ in our math class is jinyoung,” they shoot a sudden look at you. “that is, if you’re willing to step one foot down and ask him to tutor you.”

“never,” you give them a disgusted look. your mouth opens wide, disbelieving of how and why your friend would even suggest that–completely aware of the competitive relationship you and jinyoung had and still have. “he’ll become even more smug towards me,” you sigh at the thought.

“but you like him,” your friend nudges your shoulder with theirs. “so, if my calculations are correct, it’s a win-win situation. you get to have an A for your finals and you get to hang out with him,” they point their pouted lips towards a certain direction and your eyes quickly follow to find out what it was–or where he was, rather.

and there he was, walking side by side with your school’s guidance counselor. on his arm was a stack of flyers. you squint your eyes, noticing that it had the same colors with the ones you have seen displayed all over the walls as you walked down the hallways earlier. it was about improving the school’s facilities–specifically that of the counselor’s. making sure that the student body’s mental health was prioritized above all. his ambitions didn’t stop there, though. alongside that, he also implemented stricter punishments against discrimination of any sort. the entire student body cheered at the end of his speech, the applause echoed through the walls and rang in your ears. everyone seemed to be in awe of the young man standing in front of them–shining beneath that single spotlight. his warm smile brings to perfection the stage’s golden light.

you remember all of it vividly–jinyoung’s entire presence at last week’s assembly. how could you forget? you liked him. you secretly did. even if he was annoying to you, you really can’t deny that despite it, he is a good person–and a ridiculously good-looking one at that.

“ehem,” your friend clears their throat rather loudly, making you lose your train of thought. “stop staring at him like that,” a laugh escapes their mouth. but their laughter comes to a halt when you suddenly got up from your seat–your eyes still set on jinyoung. the moment you notice the counselor walking away, you find your feet in a rush to take over the spot they had just left. “oh,” your friend utters in surprise, “so we’re doing it now?”

“ehem,” you unconsciously mimic the sound your friend has made just a few moments ago. jinyoung pauses right before sticking one of his flyers onto the bulletin board. “that’s really nice. what you’re doing there,” putting on your best smile even before he turns around to face you.

“so, we’re suddenly in good terms now?” he puts on a mocking taken aback look on his face before returning the same smile. “can’t say i’m against the idea,” he says. you notice his left dimple suddenly making its appearance.

“yeah,” you mumble right before your mind trails off into another fantasy with jinyoung as the opposite lead. “so…” you fiddle with your hands at your back, hesitating whether or not you should ask help from a guy who has been picking on you since middle school. “i need your help,” your throat tightens as you say those four words. feeling ashamed, you close your eyes. do it for college, you repeat in your head. i’m doing this for college.

jinyoung laughs at this rare sight of you in front of him. you never, not once, came to ask him for help the entire time you knew each other. he was secretly flustered to say the least, what help could he possibly be for someone like you? “oh wow,” he breathes–hoping you fail to notice just how nervous he was by this as well. “i can’t believe you’re actually asking me for help. this is…” he wags his free arm for exaggeration, “am i hearing you correctly?” he cups his hand around his ear, motioning for you to repeat what you just said.

you roll your eyes at jinyoung making a big deal out of this, just as you predicted. but attending your dream university was your utmost priority–even if your pride is at stake. “i said i need your help,” you stammer in a rush. praying he hears it clearly.

“with what?” he smirks, quite amused at this unnerved version of you. he knew he was going to have a lot of fun.

“math finals,” you tried to divert your attention at the bulletin board beside you, hopeful it might loosen some nerves that you could feel were squirming at this embarrassing moment. “i never got an A+, if you weren’t aware. and i need that A so i can get a scholarship for the university i want,” you quickly inform him–needing an immediate answer and wanting for all of this to be over with as soon as possible.

“wait,” he puts a hand to his mouth while he mutters this repeatedly. “you,” he points his finger towards you now. “need me,” he points to himself. “to help you,” he points back at you. “in our math finals?” his hand back to covering his mouth.

“can you please not make a big deal out of this?” you stomp your foot lightly in annoyance. “you know i never consistently get an A in math,” you glare at him. “i just need help this time, because it’s for college,” you sigh. “so,” you gather strength to look him in the eye. “it’s either a yes or no. that’s all i need. then i’ll leave.”

“okay,” he nods his head, looking at the side. “sure, i’ll help you,” he smiles–the wrinkles by the corners of his eyes apparent. you aren’t sure if the feeling in your stomach was disdain for him being happy because you asked him for help, or if they were superficial butterflies fluttering about because he was happy you asked him for help.

“good. so, how much do you need?” you immediately go to compute in your head how much you can save in a week before finals, with the addition of the spare money you already have saved in your makeshift piggy bank back at home.

jinyoung chuckles as he notices you suddenly thinking of ideas to repay him. “none,” he says, stopping you right on your tracks. “i think i already have what i want,” he smiles at you sheepishly–you gulp at the sight of it. “bragging rights,” he pats you on the shoulder with his free hand before walking away. leaving you at a loss for words.

-

“why are you answering that with a different equation?” he hisses, as he simultaneously places two cups of coffee on the desk. “i already taught you this,” he adjusts the paper to match his sight.

you found it cute how he would always wear his black frames whenever it was time for him to tutor you. the close proximity of his face whenever he’d take a closer look at your scratch paper would always make you hold your breath. you’ve never really gotten to stare at him like this before–his lips pursed, which further puts emphasis on that distinct mole on his upper lip. how his lips always had the perfect shade of pink.

whenever you realize you were staring for quite some time, you would clear your throat, and he would instinctively take a step back. “don’t tell me you’re already falling in love with me?” he would tease you.

“don’t be so full of yourself, park jinyoung,” you would always respond. rolling your eyes for added conviction, despite knowing full well that what he’s saying wasn’t so much of a lie.

“hey,” jinyoung crosses his arms. “remember what sir said during first day of classes?” you furrow your eyebrows, shaking your head. “if i remember correctly, he did say that if no one gets an A for our final grade,” his eyes start to widen, “he would bump our grades. okay, what i’m trying to say is, if for instance none of us got an A this time, he’d change our grades and adjust it so at least one of us gets an A. basically, whoever has a B+ would get an A.”

you snap your fingers the moment you finally recall what he was trying to say, “yeah. yeah, he did say that.” you turn to look at him with a confused look on your face, “but you always get an A+ in math? what’s all this about?”

“yeah. you’re right,” he smiles. “i always get an A+ don’t i? just wanted to hear it from you,” he laughs, and there he was again–the jinyoung who always picks on you.

“can we please go back to the task at hand?” you scowl. he laughs once more before occupying the seat beside you, taking one glance at your face before looking at the textbook to which you have now turned your scowl to.

-

“i’m quite disappointed no one got an A this time for your finals,” your math teacher announces. leaving not only you, but the entire class in shock. “not even jinyoung,” he adds. “why isn’t he here by the way?” a number of people shrug their shoulders. “only two of you in this class got a B+, jinyoung and,” your teacher lands the paper on your table, “you.”

no one got an A? you thought, then that means…

you turn to look at the vacant seat beside you. “don’t worry, none of you getting an A isn’t your fault. i guess that’s on me since i’m your teacher. i always believe in all of your abilities,” he calls from in front, “so as promised,” he huffs, “i’m bumping your current grade to a grade higher.” the entire class cheers. but you stay silent, your eyes linger on jinyoung’s empty chair.

-

“you idiot!” you yell at jinyoung, walking towards him with increasing speed. the gush of wind from suddenly entering through the glass doors leaves you unfazed. “why did you do that!” as expected, there he is. sitting at the corner by the window at his favorite cafe–he once told you that before telling you to meet here for tutoring. he looks up from his book to find a very upset person in front of him.

“do what?” he blinks a few times, pretending to be unaware. “oh. don’t flatter yourself,” he chuckles. once you hear that sound, your hand goes and hits him by the arm. “ow!” he winces, “what was that for?”

“you didn’t have to do that!” you continue to raise your voice at him. “why! was it because you wanted to prove something?” you feel your pride fade as the seconds go by. “that you had to dumb yourself down just so i could get a grade like yours?” you fight the urge of letting your tears go, feeling its hot pool begin to swell in your eyes. “fine! i did need your help. but not in this way, jinyoung,” but your eyes betray you. jinyoung stands up from his seat the moment he notices a single tear escape your eye.

“i-“ he mutters, “i didn’t mean to- i just thought- i thought i was helping,” he looks at both of your eyes back and forth, as if they were desperate–looking for a way in. “i wanted to help, really. but when i was tutoring you, i-“

“you already knew i wasn’t going to get an A,” you snort, rolling your eyes in disbelief. “then you should’ve just got an A yourself. now the stupid burden’s on me,” you wipe away the tear that has now reached the tip of your chin. using the back of your hand to aggressively wipe away the stain it has left on your cheek.

“no,” he pleads with his eyes, glistening despite the afternoon’s deep orange hue that seeps from outside. “no. that’s all on me. i willingly chose to do that to myself,” he reached to grab ahold of your arms. “i’m sorry.”

“well at least you know how to apologize,” you try to lighten the damp mood. “now i don’t know whether to say sorry or thank you,” you look at him–your lips still in a frown. “perhaps i hate you would be enough.”

“or,” his eyes light up with a sudden thought. “let’s forget about our stupid childhood feud and finally use this as a chance to get to know each other,” he suggests. “you know, since we’re going to the same university next year,” he wiggles his eyebrows at you.

“we’re what?” your eyebrows stitch in confusion, once again leaving jinyoung in a fit of laughter.

“for someone so smart,” he finally goes back to his seat. “you really can’t take a hint, huh?” patting the empty chair beside his, motioning for you to join him this warm afternoon. you feel yourself blush at the thought–suddenly the skies morph into a heated shade of pink, finally understanding why he had two cups of coffee on the table. jinyoung knew you were coming. jinyoung knew all along.


End file.
